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Alternative garden fencing

Try iron, willow or dry stone instead of that boring orange fence

You may have noticed that the shelves of many DIY centres are almost empty of fencing panels at the moment. The reason? A worldwide timber shortage, caused by a wet winter that has hampered the harvesting of wood in Russia, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. In addition, supplies are being gobbled up by China and Dubai, thanks to the sheer scale of building there.

Frankly, this is no bad thing - there is so much more to fences than those nasty orange panels. After all, a fence is not there just to enclose your space and keep out prying eyes. If you are spending hundreds, even thousands, of pounds on plants, then give them an effective backdrop.

A boundary need not be expensive, but you should think about the setting, its function and how long it has to last. A solid fence, for example, may provide shelter, but it will also